Every now and then, you need to put 1 and 1 together and get 11. That’s what winners do.

I have tried to help with this already, but it was too complicated an idea for many Texans fans to grasp, so I will do it again, but this time I will hold your hands and walk you through it v-e-r-y … s-l-o-w-l-y.

I’ve long assumed that Peyton Manning wanted to play so badly that he would attempt to play even if he managed to only get back to 80 percent. The guy is a gamer. Now that doctors have cleared him and he is already throwing (as this footage shot from the grassy knoll shows) some six months before the season begins, I’d be shocked if he isn’t winging it as normal by Week 1 of the NFL season.

I talked to one former longtime NFL head coach, who said emphatically, “If the Texans don’t consider bringing in Manning, they are plain nuts.” Then he started calling people around the league some dumb sons of you-know-whats and stuff like that. He’s kind of old school.

That the Texans ought to be interested in Manning is a no-brainer. We’ll talk about that another day. But both sides of an equation must match.

Let me take the other side and show you why Manning will likely have Houston at the top of his list.

While not Bernoullian, this is math, but don’t be afraid, I’ll walk you through it.

First he’ll eliminate the teams that have a quarterback they think is as good as Manning (or one they pay as if they think he is as good as Manning).

Next, Manning is going to erase the teams that have a lot invested in a guy who could still be the man, but has room to grow.

The “he sometimes sucks, but he is ours” clause gets rid of two more cities: Atlanta and Baltimore.

Now, Manning gets to drop the teams that have young future franchise QBs they recently drafted, who would be shaking in their boots at the mere mention that Manning might be coming to town.

The “young, dumb and full of future interceptions” category clears five more teams: Carolina, Cincinnati, Minnesota, St. Louis and Tampa Bay.

Now let’s get to the mean part. It’s ugly, but it has to be done. Manning will drop the teams in cities he has little desire to play in, whether it be for location, weather, terrible sports history, bad NFL luck, high taxes, paparazzi, or whatever. Manning played in and enjoyed Indianapolis, so he won’t really be a snob here, but let’s be honest. Some places just aren’t happening.

The “take this town and shove it” section of the NFL eliminates seven more teams: Buffalo, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Oakland, New York (Jets) and Tennessee.

Peyton, for the most part is a decent guy. I don’t know his religious affiliation, but it doesn’t matter. He should want to avoid the two biggest religious circuses in the NFL. He should have an “oh, God no; the devil couldn’t make me do it” list, which would remove Denver and Dallas from the equation. No explanation needed, but think Tim Tebow and Jerry Jones and you should get the picture.

Sorry, I knew I forgot one. (Thanks to loyal subject Michael Hardie for the catch.) Arizona gets dropped in the “they would have to admit they were stupid for signing Kevin Kolb to a huge contract just a year ago, and if they did that the coaching staff and front office should be fired” category.

By my math, that leaves five teams that Manning will have to do more than a cursory look at what they bring to the table.

Seattle is a beautiful city. The Seahawks aren’t a beautiful NFL team. Plus, there Manning would have to work with quirky college-styled Pete Carroll, and still unproven offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who was crazy enough to think Tarvaris Jackson (two-year contract) was worth going after last offseason, and offensive line coach Tom Cable, who is just plain crazy. Seattle? Out.

That leaves Miami, San Francisco and Houston.

Hmm, Miami. Great weather. Nice place to live. Manning already owns a residence in Miami Beach, so clearly he thinks it is a decent place to hang. But after Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, is he ready to have Brandon Marshall as his go-to guy? I mean Harrison is a little nuts, as we learned after his career ended, but Marshall is subject to blow up at any moment. I like Reggie Bush, and Manning will like him too, but as the lead back?

Then there is the Dan Marino legacy. Miami hasn’t won a Super Bowl in 40 years, and didn’t win one under Marino, so there is no pressure in that sense, but does Manning really want to hear all those questions about Marino that silly media will always ask? Did I mention that the Dolphins have a first-year head coach who will be learning on the job? Joe Philbin is highly thought of, but rookies are rookies. Manning doesn’t have time to teach. Miami? Out.

And now, we’re down to two.

There is not much negative to say about San Francisco. Great defense. Big-time running back. A coach who knows what it takes to be a quarterback in the NFL. Wait, those are the same things I was going to say about Houston. Jim Harbaugh admires everything about Manning and how he does what he does. When I talked to Harbaugh about Andrew Luck, he went on and one about Manning. He has said the 49ers won’t jettison Alex Smith, but let’s not be silly here. That’s even sillier than the Texans wanting to go forward with Matt Schaub with Manning on the market.

There are a couple of things separating Houston and San Francisco. Not that it is important to anyone but fans and media, but as with Marino, how soon would Manning tire of questions about Joe Montana and Steve Young? Does he really want to go to a place where no matter what he does he would never be beloved like those before him?

Does he even want to go to the West Coast? There is a two-hour time difference out there, you know? And the cost of living? Apply the Pythagorean theorem and the CNN-Money cost-of-living calculator to it and you see that for every $10 million a person earns in Houston he or she would need to earn $18.1 million to match that in San Francisco.

Manning isn’t playing for the money, and he will play for an incentive-laden contract that won’t crush a team’s salary cap, but no need in throwing money away.

Houston has no quarterback legacy. I know you get pumped the Dan Pastorini story on the regular, and I love him too, but come on. After Warren Moon and George Blanda, who had only three winning seasons here (and those were in the AFL), Schaub is the best quarterback the city of Houston has known. This is not a city of NFL QB legends.

The idea of leading the Texans to a Super Bowl is intriguing to Manning. He’d be doing it in a city that has never even gone to a Super Bowl. In a city that lacks a championship pedigree. For a team that has one lousy playoff win in its history. And for a little icing on the cake, he’d get to go to Indianapolis, into the building that he built, and lead a team to a win that has never won there before.

I know Sage Rosenfels has a lock on No. 18 in this town, but if you do the math, put 1 and 1 together, you should get why Houston is atop No. 18’s wish list.